Briguy123

Re: Ncm:15 I've done to 3 things to alleviate the problem of everyone having the same stats. I raised the cost of strength to 2 points per. When it only cost one point it was too efficient to buy strength up to 18 just for the benefit to figured characteristics. I set starting points at 75/50 and stated that no more than 65 points could be spent on characteristics. With only 65 points to spend, having a 20 St., 20 Dx. and 4 Spd. Leaves only 5 points left over to spend on constitution, PD and ED. This leaves the character vulnerable to being Con. stunned on a regular basis - a bad thing for a front line fighter. Magic using characters also have to spend points to increase their Int. and Ego which further limits the 20 Str.-20 Dex.-4 Spd. phenomenon. I got rid of the comliness stat (if you want to be pretty, you buy it as a perk) and replaced it with a new stat called perception, which costs one point per. I never liked the idea that someone with exceptional intelligence also had an increased awareness of his or her physical environment. How do you model the absent minded genius who woould lose his own head if it weren't attached? Many players find it helpful to spend at least three points in perception (increasing perception rolls to 12<) , because ambushers making called shots to the head and vitals can end a fight before it starts if they catch characters by suprise. With the limited points availabe for stats, players have to be concerned about how they want to focus their character. So far this has worked for my campaigns YMMV. Unfortunately, I still haven't solved the problem of every stat being 8, 10, 13, 15, 18 or 20. @!#$ min-maxers!

Let's hope it never becomes an official supplement . . . eeeww!

There were a multitude of direct to video Sword and Sorcery movies made in the 80's and they were all bad. Some of the worst were: Gor Deathstalker I-IV (fantasy soft-core porn) The Barbarian Brothers Beastmaster II Then there were those that were released in theatres. These were equally as bad. Krull Clash of the Titans Dungeonmaster Sword of the Valiant Unfortunately, I have a sick fascination with bad movies and I have seen every one of those that I listed as well as Hawk the Slayer and all the Ator movies. I have issues.

Granted, they don't have to spend eps to boost the power of the spell, but the increase in power also increases the difficulty rating of the spell. They must spend eps to increase the skill roll if they wish to be able to cast the more powerful spell as reliably as the original. Casting a 1d6+1 RKA firebolt on a 13< is preferable to casting a 2d6 RKA firebolt on an 11<, especially of side effects are involved. Therefore, those who have researched the more powerful spell would probably want to spend a few points to boost their skill rolls up to an acceptable level.

In my campaign, beginning charachters must pick from a list of spells that I created. However, I allow those characters that have the skill "Inventor (spell research)" to spend EP's and increase the effect or create new variations of known spells. This would be similar to a fighter who had the weaponsmithing skill creating a unique weapon that does more damage or is easier to wield.

I use the spell skill system in my campaigns. The skill roll is modified by the real cost of the spell. For every three points in real cost, there is a -1 difficulty rating applied to the spell. For example, let's consider a basic "firebolt" spell: 1.5d6 RKA Active cost 25. beam effect (-1/4), RSR (-1/2), Incantations (-1/4), gestures (-1/4), full phase (-1/2), 1/2 DCV (-1/2), Conditional side effect - must fail skill roll by 3 or more (-1/4). Total disads=2 1/2. Real cost 7 Because the active cost is 7, the difficulty modifier is 7/3 or 2. Anyone with the "firebolt" skill will take a -2 penalty to his roll when casting the spell. For instance, Charga, the fire mage has a 15< roll with the fireball spell. He takes a -2 penalty for the difficulty rating so he must roll a 13 or less to successfully cast the spell. If Charga wishes engage in research to increase the effect of the spell to 2d6+1, he increases the real point cost of the power to 10. This will raise the difficulty modifier to -3. Charga would have to roll a 12 or less to cast the powered up firebolt. However, if Charga wants to add an advantage such as autofire or variable special effect (any elemental effect) to his spell, I would call it a new spell and require the player to buy a separate skill for it.

Don't you oppress me with your accusations of facism! You are obviously a closet Marxist, as only one of your ilk would ascribe any validity to Godwin's Law. Oh yeah, your also a stinky poop head!

I don't have my book handy, but if I remember correctly, the summoned creature can be dispelled. If dispel magic is a common spell in the campaign, then don't expect to keep the familiar for long. However, you could offset this by purchasing the difficult to dispel advantage.

In the campaign I'm currently setting up I treat divine miracles as favors. What I plan on doing is assigning the occassional experience point toward purchasing a favor from a deity. Particularly if the character in question did something that might please the gods. When it is needed, a player can call in that favor, though there are several stipulations. The favor may not be used to do something the god may oppose, such as healing an enemy of the faith, and the player does not necessarily decide how the favor will be enacted.

You could design the damaging aspect of the spell in the same way that venoms are often designed. 6-8 d6 nnd damage that takes the extended time limitation. The defense would be not taking body from the enspelled weapon, life support vs cold, or damage reduction vs cold attacks.

Secret ID's I have used in the past include a college student, a doctor, an olympic athelete, a photojournalist, a stock broker, and a patient at a mental hospital. The last was a character in a short lived Dark Champions campaign.

The following event happened during a a highschool AD&D campaign. We had just finished Module S1: White Plume Mountain. On the area map provided in the module there is a small illustration of a skeletal dragon at one edge with the text, "here lies the way to the cave of the undead dragon." I the players decided they wanted to investigate, so I generated an appropriate scenario. Once they finally reached the cave they gathered about 100 yards from the entrance and held a war council. Our doughty fighter (played by a kid who later gained the knick name of "Hacker") finally had a brilliant thought and announced to the group "I'll smoke him out!" Before anyone could remind him that undead don't breathe, he through a small gem enchanted with a fireball spell into a large patch of dry prairie scrub. The resulting commotion aroused the dragon who used the fire to his advantage. He used fire spells to surround the PC's with a merry conflagration. The players had to fight the dragon while trying to survive a raging prairie fire. From thence forth, the groups battle cry became "We'll smoke them out!"

Now that I've figure out how to do this, here is a picture of Vanguard. He is a powered armor blaster that I have had since Champions II

For those of you that are familiar with Heromachine, how do you get a screen capture? I've tried ctrl+alt+print screen and that doesn't work on my computer.

Sign him up for a hotmail account that automatically downloads into his mainframe. DEATH BY SPAM!

The map of the known world in my soon-to-be-run campaign covers one continent about the size of the continental United States as well as a few large island that are approximately the size of Japan. There are 2 major empires 8 Small kingdoms, four areas dominated by barbaric tribes, a confederation of city-states similar to those of Greece during the Hellenistic Period, and a number of small independent principalities and city-states. There are also large expanses of unihabited land just begging to be explored. Most of the adventures will take place in or near one of the Hellenistic city-states. The city of Xandrion is a port city and a major trade hub between the Eastern and Western halfs of the continent. It is a melting pot thus allows for me to include a variety of characters from the various cultures of the campaign world.

In the past I created write ups for variuos generic thugs (warrior, cultist, street tough . . . etc.) I used these write ups to cover a variety of situations. For example, the warrior template could be a town gaurd, an orc soldier or a bandit. Just apply the appropriate equipment and attitude and voila. I use to be a fanatic about accounting for points on unique monsters. However, I think all the mix and match options that are provided in the 5th ed. bestiary are going to make my job a lot easier.

For single use items such as potions and scrolls I don't charge experience. Any character with the appropriate skills (alchemy, KS: Magic, inventor . . . etc.) can create such items. However, the creator has to invest time and money. I require that such items need rare and often expensive materials for creation.

Is Bree really having Lance's baby? If your characters are in the mood for a little melodrama, try injecting some soap opera style plots into the story. In one campaign my character got slapped with several paternity suits. He was a young college nerd when he recieved his powers and the resulting fame netted him a plethora of groupies. Two of the women filing suit had definite grounds to seek a court ordered paternity test. It was fun playing out the drama only to find out that my character had been framed by the mysterious organization that was responsible for his origin. Then there is always the comedy scenario. I had another character (female and attractive) who was conned into a date with Foxbat. That was a real hoot, although it did eventually lead to a breif scuffle. *Foxbat goes for the open mouth Kiss - BOOT TO THE 'NADS!*

No, no, no! Gothic arches are where its at . . . much stronger, and besides, they're all pointy. Evryone knows that pointy is cool

I once played with a GM who allowed his pet NPC to use FTL only through electrical lines as an extremely inexpensive and infallible form of teleport. He was the GM that all those "How not to run a successful campaign" articles are based on. His story lines were rigid and his NPC's would always come and save the day because the challenges he presented were far beyond the PC's capabilities. The players were there only to witness the total awesome kewlness of the GM's NPC du jour. I think I lasted two sessions before I quit in disgust. What's sad is that this individual was well into adulthood.

Re: Just a Thought... I like! Considered your ideas stole . . . borrowed.

I like having the occasional Spell O' Doom. It fits the genre. However, I would require that casting such a spell requires both supreme effort (i.e. x5 endurance, lots of extra time to cast, rare ingredients, and possibly the participation of more than one caster) and extreme risk (i.e. Major side effects that reach a catastrophic level if the spell is miscast). The local villagers are revolting against the unjust taxes levied by Spanky the Death Lord and many have gathered around his tower to express their displeasure ("Death to Spanky . . . rah, rah, rah!"). However, Spanky knows the Horrible Cant of Exsanguination, which causes hordes of people to weep blood. It requires an hour of torturous chants by himself and several acolytes who have been annointed with the blood of a wrongfully executed man. When Spanky casts the spell, he automatically loses 2d6 ego that must be healed as if it were actual damage (such lore should not be known by mortals). If Spanky fails to cast the spell correctly he is temporarily blinded (recover at the GM's discretion) and loses 3d6 body from weeping blood for several hours. Spanky has his fingers crossed! PC's will be limited to one spell of such scope and power, and obtaining such lore would require a major quest. Otherwise, spells must follow campaign damage limits. Non-combat spells will be reviewed by the GM on a case by case basis. ("No, you cannot have a detect-and-analyze-all-unguarded-treasure-within-a-twelve-mile-radius spell!"). I realize it will take alot of effort on the GM's part to maintain balance, but I think my method will lend itself to developing magic that has personality.

Re: Magic ... a way of life Thanks for the compliment! As for your question, yes. According to my world design, magic is a very esoteric practice. Much of the magical lore is kept by various temples, just as the Catholic church was once the main repository for the historic, philosophic and scienctific lore of western civilization. In my world the various religious institutions tend to collect magical knowledge that relates to their respective gods' realms of influence. For example, The temples of Solar, God of the Sun and Revealer of Truth, maintain texts on fire magic and spells that enhance the senses. Spells held by religious institutions are normally taught to those of the faith. Some religions only reveal such secret knowledge to priests while others only require that the student spend some time in service to the temple. However, there are several schools with no affiliation to a particular religion. My campaign city is the home of The Great Library of Xandrion. This August institution is sponsored by the Triarch (the cities high muckety-muck) and is a repository of lore collected from all corners of the known world. For a fee, the resident scholars will teach students any number of subjects, including magic. However, to gain access to the more powerful spells, one must know the right people and be willing to pay handsomely. There are also a few secret societies such as the Society of the Black Hand that teach members secret magical rites that they may further the goals of the society. Membership in such a group should not be taken lightly, as the consequences could be fatal. . . . and of course, one could always try an convince a powerful wizard to accept an apprentice, though one risks offending said wizard in the process. Most wielders of magic jealously guard their secrets

I'm starting up a Champions campaign at my local FLGS and need some adventure ideas. I have a few of my own but I'd like to get some input from others to help stimulate the creative juices. The premise of the campaign is that the U.S. government has determined that super-terrorist organizations such as Viper and Demon are a great enough threat that a special organization should be created to deal with them. To this end, the FBI, the CIA, and DOSPA are coordinating to fund and train "Project Strike." Project Strike consist of 5-7 meta-humans, 6 squads of 10 tactical combat agents, and various and sundry support personel. The Meta-human (all PC's) agents will act as both investigators and assault agents. So, please indulge me with your devious, twisted and sometimes humurous adventure threads.